by Beata Loyfman

The first panel of the World Savers Congress has just concluded and we've had some fascinating insights from leaders in the area of social responsibility in travel.

The initiatives of Sandals International and its CEO Adam Stewart were particularly impressive.

Check out some of the programs at his resorts:

* Sandals currently contributes $10 million to communities annually. A new foundation will bring the total annual contribution to $30 million to help the environment, education, wildlife conservation, and other causes.

* Thousand Smiles: This program brings North American dentists to treat Jamaican people. "After this experience," says Stewart, "it becomes much more than a job for them."

* Stewart brought up a startling statistic: 10 billion plastic bottles get deposited into landfills every year and stay there for 500 years. Sandals has shifted to mounted dispensers so as to avoid this unnecessary waste.

* Did you know that you can use cooking oil to power trucks and cool a hotel room using solar energy? We didn't either. But Stewart says that his company is currently developing solar-thermal cooling systems and refining deep-frying oils. Back to the future!

Check back here for more news from the World Savers Congress.